Dalicious Challenge 4

Dear Readers,

Mythology was the theme for the Challenge No. 4!

I was very excited about this theme because I remember being totally obsessed about Greek mythology when I was a teenager.  I read every single book I could get my hands on.  So this challenge was like a trip back in time and it was fun to ponder the different scenes I could re-create in my dolly world.

At first I wanted to do Icarus flying away from the labyrinth...or rather falling from the sky when his wings melted.  I needed to make some wings for him and I had in mind a very specific design.   

But I became suddenly very weak and I increasingly lost whatever energy I had left in me.  This past week was just horrible.   I will explain on another day what happened.

I could not make the wings I had planned so I settled for the tale of Cupid and Psyche because it was a scene I could re-create without too much work.  I wished I could have given Cupid his wings, bow and arrows... but time was not on my side.  I took a bunch of pictures on Saturday.

Today, I was in so much pain I nearly collapsed around noon.  I thought I wouldn't be able to submit the photo. I added a little candle flicker and a few light rays but I didn't dare do any drastic photoshop.   Now that I look at my photo, I realize I should have positioned Scout differently.   But oh well, it's too late to change so I'll just cross my fingers.

The story of Cupid and Psyche is one of my favorite in Greek Mythology.  Psyche marries Cupid but she does not know what he looks like since he insists on sleeping in total darkness. Psyche's sisters are very jealous to see that she lives in such a beautiful palace and so they convince her that her husband is a monster and that she must kill him!

One night after Cupid falls asleep, Psyche carries out the plan her sisters devised: she brings out a dagger and a lamp she had hidden in the room, in order to see and kill the monster. But when the light instead reveals the most beautiful creature she has ever seen, she is so startled that she wounds herself on one of the arrows in Cupid's cast-aside quiver. Struck with a feverish passion, she spills hot oil from the lamp and wakes him.

Kai (my Isul Lir) is cosplaying as Cupid.  I really loved the fact that this bedroom scene allowed me to leave Isul in the nude so I didn't have to worry about making an outfit for him!!! ^_^

Scout (Dal Tweety) is wearing a gown I made with leftover white fabric.  The knife is from a Barbie kitchen playset.   The candle is from WYRNA'S MINIATURE BOUTIQUE.  I got it along with some exquisite furniture that I bought to decorate the Chocolate Rabbit grandparents's cottage!

The previous challenge (Vintage) earned me a third position but I think this scene won't win any awards LOL  I am however very glad to have been able to submit the photo in time.  There are two more challenges so I want to stay until the end to finish the contest even though I don't stand a chance of winning anything!

The pictures are not up on the Dolly Market Forum yet but you can view some of them in the Dalicious Flickr Group.

Have a wonderful week everybody!


EDIT: The photos are now up on the Dolly Market Forum or you can go directly to the Challenge 4 Entries.  There are many amazing photos!

And the winners of the Giveaway are ...

Happy 4th of July y'all :)

It is a lazy day at home for me today.  I am back at the office tomorrow so might as well enjoy a bit of calm with the family.

I asked my boy and his cousin to help me draw the name of the two winners of my Re-ment Giveaway Contest!

And so the winners are ... (drum roll)

Prize 1 - TV set : Danzel
Prize 2 Toaster set : Mariana

Congratulations to both of you!

Please email me your address at mabebecherie@gmail.com so I can send you the prize!

Thank you to everybody for participating! I have chosen the names for my Pullip Merl and Isul Lir thanks to you!

Isul will be KAI which was suggested by both Danzel and Mariana!

Pullip will be LOLA which was suggested by Fanni :)

Thank you again and enjoy your day!

Unboxing Pullip Merl

Today I was able to have some time to unbox Pullip Merl.  Here she is waiting for me to take her out of her box.  Apart from her outfit, the doll also came with a card and a doll stand.

There are three metal ties (one around her neck and one around each hair loop on the side of the head) and many many tapes.  I had to be extra careful when removing the metal ties because her neck could have easily snapped and I did not want to damage her hair either. The ties are very difficult to remove so I was so worried!

There are even tape around her legs and hands/arms!  I guess they need to do this to prevent her joints from breaking apart but it was a pain to remove!!!

But after an hour, she was finally free from her cardboard house.

OUTFIT

One of the reason why Merl and Lir are my favorite dolls is because they both have a beautiful outfit and under garments!  Some dolls only come with one single outfit and no under garments at all.  But Pullip Merl and Isul Lir both have beautiful clothes plus boots and hat or ribbons!

The Pullip Merl outfit includes:

• Navy blue sailor dress
• White under dress
• White bloomers
• Grey and black striped socks
• Brown boots with red lace
• Gigantic white hair ribbon with little blue/white/red bows
• Smaller white hair ribbon with another little bow
• White sash with a big key and decorated with ribbons  and a heart charm 
• A choker necklace with a small key

Pullip Merl's under dress is truly beautiful and it can be worn alone without the sailor dress and still look totally great!  The ribbons add a nice touch to the outfit and make everything look so proper and pretty.  Her boots look awesome and tie the outfit together.  I did not know she had a choker so that was a surprise!  And the tiny key in front of the choker was good addition.   

HAIR

Now let's talk about her hair. I dreaded having a doll with super long hair because it's difficult to maintain.  But Pullip Merl's long brown/auburn locks are BEAUTIFUL!!!  Her hair did not smell bad and was wonderfully soft.  No waxy feeling or clumps.  They are slightly wavy as you can see in the photo.

What I don't like is that her hair was slightly damaged.  The tape and metal ties made some marks and you can see them quite clearly on either side of her face.  And her bangs are straight across her forehead; not wispy bangs like in the promo pictures.  That was a big difference and changes her hairstyle quite a lot.  But I think I could use a little bit of conditioner to fix her hair kinks.  And her bangs can by cut and styled so I will work on that later.

FACE

Her makeup was a lot darker than I thought it would be.  The blush on her cheeks are very pink, almost red, and her eyes are navy blue, with very dark eyelid makeup. The lips are a dark hue of pink.  I am not sure I like her face been so done.  It makes her look a lot older than in the promo photos.

I really want to love Pullip Merl because I have been drooling over her for quite a while.  But I am disappointed.  I was so shocked when I opened the box and saw her dark makeup.  I definitely love her outfit but the doll herself is making me cringe because I didn't expect that from the pictures I saw.

Maybe I am just been harsh right now because in comparison, Pullip Paja is so pale and I got used to her.   What do you think?  Does she look pretty to you?  Do you think her makeup is too pronounced?

I dont' have time to unbox Isul Lir yet so that will have to wait for another day.

EDIT: I woke up this morning and looked at the doll again.  Past my initial shock, I can now say she is definitely not as bad as I thought yesterday.  You can see her difference with Pullip Paja here below.

 

Pullip Paja

Pullip Merl and Isul Lir have arrived yesterday! But it was so busy at home I couldn't unbox them yet (>.<) Somebody was already waiting impatiently to see them though.  Here she is looking at her new friends ;-)

Pullip Paja is my first Pullip Doll.  She was released many years ago but was so popular that after she became out of stock, the company re-released her (they did the same with a few other Pullip dolls high in demand).  The new models are called Regeneration.  

 

She comes with a dinosaur suit and a pretty pajama but I didn't really care for the dinosaur suit so I bought my doll without the clothes.  It was much cheaper that way and I could then buy the clothes that I would prefer.  I originally wanted the sailor outfit from Pullip Merl but she was so pretty I decided to buy the doll as well.

I didn't need help naming her because when my son saw her, he said she looked like a "Tiffany" and I loved it so much I decided it would be her name.

Tiffany didn't have any clothes and the outfits available at the time were really expensive so I browsed Ebay for many weeks until I found used but still beautiful outfits for her!  There were 5 dresses (with hats and stockings, etc.) in the lot so it was an incredible deal.

Tiffany is wearing her flower and ladybug dress and is now sitting pretty waiting for me to unbox her friends.   Doesn't she look adorable?

What's in a Name?

The legend of the whispering island...

Mango island is a legendary island that lies far south on the ocean, known for the singing and whispering. Mango island sings and whispers to children... And these songs and whispers cannot be heard once you become an adult. The legendary Mango island can only be visited by children chosen by its kingdom. But... in order to find the Mango island, a magical sailor costume is needed. One year, Merl and Lir also went off to find the legendary Mango island. The two wore magical sailor uniforms designed by the kingdom's best designer... The whispering island model was based on the sailor uniforms worn by these siblings.

Credit source: PullipStyle.com

Isn't it a beautiful legend?

That's the back story behind Pullip Merl and Isul Lir.  I love the sailor outfits worn by Pullip and her brother Isul.  I have a bias for sailor suits (baby already has 3 sailor dresses!) and so these naturally became my Grail Dolls!  I have been eyeing them for a while but couldn't bring myself to spend so much on a doll!  But I had a discussion with my husband who convinced me to buy them if I wanted them so badly.  After all, a meal at the restaurant would cost about as much as a doll and it's all gone once you are done, but you get to keep the doll forever ;-) [people who are trying to save money, please don't listen to my reasoning!]

I finally made the plunge when I saw Pullip Merl on sale at by PullipStyle.com.   They said she arrived in a Dent Box but the doll herself is intact so I got her for a very good price!!  PullipStyle also had Isul Lir on sale so I decided to get him before he is out of stock!  It's my favorite online store for Pullip dolls because their pricing is reasonable and often you can get free shipping if you buy over a certain amount. (I am not getting paid to say this :P  - I just wanted people to know where I got my dolls from).

 

But now I want to name them and realize I don't have any idea on what names I could possibly use >.<  All that effort went in the search to name my baby months earlier so I am out of steam now :P 

So can you help me find a name for these adorable siblings?

I am going to have a Giveaway for people who can suggest a name for my dolls!  The prizes are: Re-ment goodies!!!  They can be used with dolls like Strawberry Shortcake or Sylvanian Families or even with bigger dolls like Barbies, Pullips, etc. 

There will be two winners and each will receive one goodie!  The items are in an opened box (I had to open it otherwise I wouldn't know what's in it!) but their are sealed in their original plastic bag.  I blogged about them in this post.   I have two extra sets because when you buy a blind box, you don't know what you will get! 

1st Prize - The TV set from the Re-ment Merry Strawberry Collection includes a TV (with a screen you can change to another image), a clock and a tissue box.

2nd Prize - the toaster set from the Re-ment Merry Strawberry Collection includes a toaster, two toasts, a plate, a jar of jam, a bit of strawberry jam you can put on your toast, a glass with pink milk (you can remove  the milk from the glass!) and a place mat!

All you need to do is follow my blog and suggest a name for Isul or Pullip. 

EDIT: Some have asked me about this so to clarify: You only need to suggest a minimum of ONE name to enter the contest.  So please write one name for Pullip or Isul or suggest a name for each is ok too.  My Pullip Merl is romantic and caring while Isul Lir is brave and curious.  

 

Deadline is July 4h, 2013 at midnight CDT.

I'll put your name in a draw at the end of the contest and announce the winner shortly after.

Thank you for all who will be participating and good luck! :)

Pullip Dolls

I have recently been bitten by a new passion in the name of  ♥ Pullip ♥

Pullip dolls are ball jointed dolls originally created in 2003 by Cheonsang Cheonha in South Korea and sold by Jun Planning from Japan.  Link to the official website is HERE.  Since 2009, the dolls have been marketed by Groove which has an USA website too:  Groove USA.   These are expensive dolls ($120-$150) so shop around before buying them!  Some stores do offer great discount price on new dolls.
 

There have been many lines of dolls created after Pullip.  Here below is a list of their name and the meaning in Korean, and their relationship to each other (information taken from Wikipedia) :

Pullip (풀잎, blade of grass/leaf')

Namu (나무, tree) - Pullip's former boyfriend

Taeyang (태양, sun) - Pullip's present boyfriend

Dal (달, moon) - Tayang's younger sister

Byul (별, star) - Dal's best friend

Isul (이슬, dew) - Pullip's younger brother

To complicate things further, each month the company releases a new doll!  They have many different collections inspired by popular anime (like Back Butler) or fairy tales (like Alice in Wonderland) or books (like Peter Pan, Ann Shirley of Green Gables and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz).

While searching for the dolls I wanted to buy, I came across many new terms that I did not understand but I found a website where there is a ton of information about Pullip dolls: Pullip FAQ at PullipsandJunk.com !!!

My Grail Dolls (favorite and most wanted dolls) are the Sister/Brother Combination of Pullip Merl and Isul Lir.   If you look at their promo photos, you'll see how beautiful they are!  I'll post more about them soon :)